A retro gamers dream quiz with over 50 questions from Jump man to Dreamcast games.  If ]]>

Retro Games Challenge (1)

A retro gamers dream quiz with over 50 questions from Jump man to Dreamcast games.  If you think you can tell your Buggy Boy from your Bomb Jack or your Outrun from your Powerdrift the download this today. Test your knowledge of all things retro from the arcades to the home computer.

Link:

For all you trek fans out there, not only is there an easy set of questions for ]]>

Star Trek (Hard)

For all you trek fans out there, not only is there an easy set of questions for those fans just starting out but there is a ‘tough’ set of questions which will leave any hardened fan scratching their ridged cranium.

LAUNCH SALE:

US: $1.99

UK: £1.19

I started by using keynote (or power point for the PC users out there) to create a walkthrough of ]]> The Wireframes

I started by using keynote (or power point for the PC users out there) to create a walkthrough of how I hoped it could work.   You can download it below if you are really that interested. I have exported it to PPT format so both sides can open it.

The Quizicards PPT Walkthrough – The beginning

The file was very rough and gave me a starting point to develop the idea.  Since then I have created two more walkthroughs with additional functionality and when the button images are clicked then go to the correct screen.  This really helped as you could see where the dead ends were and you ct through the pretty stuff and got to the nitty gritty of the functionality.

I would strongly suggest doing a wireframe before trying to do any graphics work as it will give you a clear idea of how much work is involved and show you how little you have though about the real mechanics of it.  Time and time again I see forum posts of people who have ideas but want someone else to build it.  This is the easy way out, money without any effort, if they are serious then they could create a set of wireframes, a functionality document and even offer to front some cash for the project.  Many however will offer ‘a share in the profits’ but as we all know the time needed to build the app can run into the thousands of pounds to if you really want to enter into one of these ‘crazy’ joint projects make sure that you write down that you want the initial revenue from the app until your fee is paid and after you can arrange a profit sharing scheme.

It’s tempting to jump straight into graphics (i know) but if you can’t be bothered to create a simple wire frame why would you be bothered to create graphics for the entire game.

After I came up with the wireframes I took it through family, friends, colleagues and randoms to get feedback and it was by doing this I got the USP for the project.  As you might expect, family and friends said it sounded great but the question came up ‘why would I get yours over everyone elses’ and at first I thought my USP was that it was a group quiz game that is played with friends, (that is different enough isn’t it) but I got a couple of ‘meh’ and realised I needed more… So that lead me to the add another USP which would turn the quiz app market on its head…

CHECK OUT PART 4 HERE >>

When you think you have a great app idea don’t just become single minded in creating it as there is ]]> Research

When you think you have a great app idea don’t just become single minded in creating it as there is probably 10 apps already up there.  First check the itunes app store and then online as the chances are someone else has got there first.

What helped me along was a friend of mine at Studio Liddell when we chatted about their iphone game ‘slippy feet‘

We chatted at length and i shared a few ideas including a silly app about ‘weeing’  and a month later there was one on the app store.  So there is something about moving fast when you do have an idea because 10 people have the same idea at the same time.

The biggest question though is ‘Will I make any money out of it?’

This has been the biggest hurdle for me as putting time and effort into an app costs time and money and if it bombs then whats the point?

For my first app I decided that is would be a loss Leader and that I might have to take a hit on the first one to learn all the lessons of the word of app building and marketing.

I spent the following weeks downloading all the free quiz apps out there and looking through the usability, option screens, bonuses, features, graphics and longevity and found that many were much of a muchness as many online tutorials teach you to make a quiz game first as it uses little graphics and coding knowledge. This was a problem as it meant that the market was saturated with rubbish quiz games…

After checking what constituted a FREE app I then decided to see what you get if you pay for them, first a 59p, then £2.99 just to see if you get what you pay for.  And its true, the paid for apps were SO much better than the free ones with more questions, better functionality and a bit more thought.

This is where I would have to aim so it was off to the drawing board for the first wireframes.

CHECK OUT PART 3 HERE >>